Typewriting machine



Aug. 30, 1932. w. A. DOBSON 1,874,256

TiPEWRITING MACHINE Filed May 1, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOFU Aug. 30, 1932. A. DOBSON 5 TYPE-WRITING MACHINE Filed May 1, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR: MJWM BY ATTQ EY.

Patented Aug. 30, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 WILLIAM A.-DOBSON, OF BRIDGEYORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO UNDERWOOD EL- LIOTT FISHER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE TYPEWRITING MACHINE Applicationfiled ma 1, 1930. Serial No. 448,815.

This invention relates to means for feeding paper around a revoluble platen, especially in an Underwood portable typewritmgmachine.

. rolls.

According to the present invention,'there V the employed independent feed-roll carriers. Each carrier is arranged side by side with the other carrier, and in each carrier are mounted both front and rear feedrolls. These carriers are in the form of frames, each having bent up end portions at front and backin which the axles of the feed-rolls are journaled. each carrier forming a sole'support of its feed- For equalizing the pressure upon the feedrolls of each carrier, independently of the other carrier, the present inventionprovides a single compression spring for each carrier, said spring resting at its lower end upon a i 31; support that is provided upon the typewriting machine, and bearing up at its top against said carrier, at the middle point thereof. Thus, in the case of each carrier, the pressure is equalized between the ends of the rolls, and

also the pressure of the front roll is made equal to the pressure of the back roll.

Since each carrier is independent of the other, it results that a narrow sheet may be carried upon either end of the platen, or other inequalities of conditions may occur, but all thesheets will be successively carriedaround the platen. There being so many points of contact, and the pressure being'equal at all points, it results that any sheet is carried around the platen accurately without danger of slipping or skewing.

A. roll-releasing rock-shaft is-mounted upon 7 the carriage or platen-frame, and extends longitudinally of the platen, preferably in rear thereof. Fingers extend forwardly from the end of each rollframe, and also a single midway finger for engaging the inner ends of both roll-frames.

There may alsobe provided upon the rockshaft a cam-arm, which is engageable by a finger-lever mounted upon the carriage to rock said shaft and lock it in position with the rolls dropped from the platen. Said rollframes are in the nature of floats, but they are anchored against lateral displacement by means of ears which .are bent down from the paper-guiding apron. The latter curves forwardly under the platen and above said frames. These ears project down through holes formed in the frames, and restrainjthe frames against endwise displacement.

The spring gives the roll-carrier a swiveling action in all directions, and a single spring provides theentire pressure each pair of rolls, and equalizes the pressure throughout.

The paper-shelf, which extends downwardly and forwardly at the back of the platen, is constructed to be independent of the feedrolls, and is rigidly mounted directlyupon the frame of the carriage. In manufacturing the machine, the usual carriage-scales and the usual front paper-guiding fingers can be adjusted and subsequently, if it should be found necessary, resetting or readjustment of the feed-rolls or the feed-roll frame can be practically effected without disturbing such adjustment of the usual paper-fingers and scales, inasmuch as the bottom feed-rolls are not mounted upon saidpaper-shelf or apron,

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear. I

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the platencarriage of an Underwood portable typewriting machine, having my invention applied thereto, part of the structure being broken away to better illustrate other parts. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view, front to rear, through the structure shown in Figure 1; In this view,the feed-rolls are shown in effective positions against the platen.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2. In

this view the lower feed-rolls are shown in released positions.

Figure 4 is a disassembled perspective view of certain of the elements of my improved feed-roll mechanism.

In an Underwood portable typewriting machine, types 10 strike against a platen 11 mounted on a platen-shaft 12 journaled in end plates 13 of a platen-carriage 14. The platen 11 may be rotated by a finger-wheel 15 on each end of'the shaft 12; The end plates 13 may be fastened together in the rear of the platen 11 by a cross-rod 16. V

For feeding work-sheets at the delivery side of the platen 11, a rear paper-table 17 is mounted between the end plates 13, and its upper rear end portion may be supported on the. cross-rod 16. For fastening the table 17 to therod 16 a hook-like member 18 integrally joined at each end of the table may be bent rearward for engaging over the rod, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. The lower forward portion of the paper-table 17 is fastened in the carriage.

A sheet-metal base-plate 20 is fastened between the end plates 13 to inreaching integral lugs 21'of the end platesby screws 22. The front and rear side-edge portions of the plate 20 are formed, asshown in Figure 3, with angular rail-elements 23, each of which is disposed adjacent a usual laterally fixed railmember 24 to form therewith a track or raceway for usual anti-friction elements 25.

The base-plate 20 may have two or more integral lugs 26 formed by cutting them partly away from the surrounding metal and bending them upward a small amount, as shown in Figure 3. Each of the lugs 26 may have tapped holes for receiving a screw 27 which is provided with a lock-nut 28.

Alfront feedroll 30 and an associated rear feed-roll 31, constituting a pair, may be positioned adjacent each end of the platen. Rollshafts 32 have reduced bearing portions 33.

Each front feed-roll 30 and its paired feedroll'31' are mounted ona slightly concaved sheet-metal frame 34 which may be approximately parallel to the forward overlying portion of the paper-table 17 which underlies the platen -11. Each frame has an arm 35 at each corner formed with a journal element 36 for receiving one of the bearing portions 33. The inner end of each frame 34 has a depressed extension 37 Each of the outer end portions of the frames 34 may have a sunken portion 38, substantially as shown in Figure 1. v The rear feed-rolls 31pass through slots 39 in the paper-table 17'to bear against the platen 11. The front feed-rolls 30 extend through cut-out sections 39 the forwar d edge portion of the. paper-table to bear against the platen. A stripg4Q q f metal is ri etedins-theihaseaplt aiaqvaiat eeamar f e c scams?!aandetlmfqrararilss dsifsthe stliptrestspfilthe tofiaafeereiw 27a iEanh efiiip of feed rolls.

faodtiqllrmeleaseh lever 2.66 11 boss 43' is centrally located in each frame 34 for engaging in the upper end of each spring.

Each pair of feed-rolls 30 and 31 engages the platen 11 independently of the other pair Each pair of feed-rolls is thrown ofi the platen simultaneously with the other pair. For this purpose, a rockshaft 44 has its right end journaled in the right end plate 13 and its left end journaled in an arm 45 .of a bracket 46 fastened to the base-plate 20 by screws 47. A stretch 48 of the rock-shaft 44 behind each feed-roll 31 is bent or cranked rearwardly from the axis of the shaft 44 to form offset portions thus pro viding clearance for moving the rear feedrolls 31 in the restricted space between the platen l1 and the plate 20. Between the two stretches 48 is provided a short stretch 50 coaxially disposed relatively to the end bearing portions of the shaft 44. A portion of the stretch 50 may bejournaled in a bracket 51, which may be a duplicate of bracket 46. To make the revoluble movement of the shaft 44 effective for moving the frames 34 downward, two sheet-metal rocking arms 52 are mounted on the shaft 44, and each has a downwardly bent mounting flange 53 at its rear end apertured for engaging with a tight fit on the. end portions of the shaft 44.

A forwardly-extending body-member 54 of each arm 52 has a finger 55 which is seated in the adjacent sunken portion 38. No part of the arm 52 opposite the middle portions of the frames 34 needs to extend above the plane of the upper faces of the frames 34.

For pressing down the frames 34, a third rocking arm 58 has a forwardly-extending body. 60 and an integral down-reaching mounting flange 61 fitting tightly on the arially-disposed stretch 50 of the shaft 44. Upon the forward end of the body 60 is a cross-piece 62 which gives the arm 58 a T- shape. Each end of the cross-piece 62 rests on the adjacent depressed extension 37, and the body 60 may be bent slightly at 63, so that no part of the body or the cross-piece 62 will be disposed above the planes of the middle portions of the frames 34. This is desirable because of-the shallow space between the up per face of the frame 34 and the lower face of the paper-table 17. For revolvingthe rockshaft 44:a-nd swinging the arms 52 and 58 against the frames 34, a cam-arm 65 is fa tened on the/shaft 44ladjacent the-right-hand ndi plat-e135 flA eam idgfii fitigisvpljovided 'on the'nppaficendiohthemmm 65E are "ear Psi-dc;

rotatablf rf mounted on the cross-rod 16 adjacentthe right-hand end plate 13 between two collars 68, and has an upwardly-extendin arm 69 which terminates in a finger-piece 0 and a forwardly-extending arm 71.

A cam-roller 72 mounted on a transverse pin 73 on the front end portion of the arm 71 engages against the cam-edge 66. A li ht upward pull on the finger-piece is e cotive to move the roller 72 downward and cam the arm 65 forward until the roller is seated in a notch 74 at the lower end of the camedge 66. The shaft 44 is revolved clockwise and swings the arms 52 and 58 down and moves both frames 34 down together against the force of thesprings 42. The engagement of the roller 72 in the detent-notch is effective to hold the frames 34 and the feed-rolls 30 and 31 in their released positions against the actions of the springs 42.

Each of the frames 34 is mounted upon a single centrally-disposed spring 42. For guiding the up and down movements of the frames to move the feed-rolls 31, each of the frames 34 has two narrow rectangular guideslots 75 cut in it. The long axis of each slot 7 5 is positioned to coincide with the long axis of the associated frame 34, and the slots are positioned on opposite sides of thespringretaining boss 43 equal distances therefrom. Vertically-disposed guide-tongues .76 are bent down from the paper-table 17 in position for engaging loosely in the subjacent guide-slots 75. The springs are in line with the row of guides, each spring being between two guides, to avoid binding.

For fastening the forward end of the paper-table 17 rigidly to the carriage 14, an integral lug 77 on each end of the table 17 under the platen 11 is fastened to the baseplate 20 by a screw 78 which passes through a hole in an outreachingextension 80 of the lug 77 and is threaded in the plate 20.

It is usual in portable typewriting machines to have a front scale, such as is shown in Figure 2 and designated 81. The scale 81 is mounted in a way so that it will not be affected by any adjustment that may be necessary for the feed-roll pressure springs 42. In carrying out this feature, brackets 82 are fastened to the forward side of the plate 20 and each has an upreaching arm 83. The scale 81 may be fastened to the arms 83 in any suitable way.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: 1

1. In a ty ewriting machine having a platen, the com ination with a platen-carriage, of a feed-roll mechanism including a pluralityof frames, a paired front and rear feed-roll on each frame, means for urging each of the pairs of feed-rolls against said platen, independently of the other pairs, and instrumentalities for moving all of said pairs of feed-rolls away from said platen simultaneously to their released positions, a slotted rear paper-table on said carriage extending. forwardly over the released positions of said feed-rolls, the slots in said table positioned to permitsaid feed-rolls to extend therethrough for engaging said platen, and means whereby said paper-table co-operates with said frames for guiding said feed-rolls throu h said slots.

2. n a typewriting machine having a platen, thecombination with a platen-carriage, of afeed-roll mechanism including a displaceably-mounted slotted frame, a paired front and rear feed-roll on said frame for engaging with the lower side of said platen,

and a slotted rear paper-table fixed on said platen-carriage and extending forwardly under said platen above the released positions of said feed-rolls, the slots in saidpapertable arranged to permit said feed-rolls to extend therethrough for engaging said platen, said paper-table having guide-members engaging in the slots of said frame for guiding said feed-rolls through said slots in said papentable into engagement with said platen.

3. In. a typewriting machine of the class described, havinga revoluble platen and a platen-frame, the combination of a paperguiding apron curving forwardly under and around the platen, a row of guiding studs directed downwardly from said apron, a plurality of frames under said apron and hav ing, between the rolls, a ertures having sliding fit upon said guiding studs, front and rear rolls upon each of said guiding frames to operate throughapertures in said apron and run upon the under side'of the platen, and separate springs pressing up against said frames, one spring for each frame, each spring pressing against the central portion of its frame, to divide its force between the rolls and between the ends of each roll upon said frame.

' 4. In a typewriting machine of the class described, having a revoluble platen and a platen-frame, the combination of a paperguiding apron curving forwardly under and around the platen, a row of guiding studs directed downwardly fromsaid apron, a pluralit of frames under said apron and having, etween the rolls, apertures having sliding fit upon said guiding studs, front and rear rolls uponeach of said guiding frames and run upon the under side of the platen, separate springs pressing up against said frames, one spring for: each frame, each spring pressing against the central portion of its frame, to divide its force between the rolls and between the ends of each roll upon said frame, said springs being in line with the studs, supports for said springs, and screws for adjusting the supports to regulate the tension of said springs.

5. In a typewriting machine of the class described, having a revoluble platen and a platen-frame, the combination of a papergui'ding apron curving forwardly under and around the platen, a row ofv guiding studs directed downwardly from said apron, a plurality of frames under said apron and having, between the rolls, apertures having sliding fit upon said guiding studs, front and rear rolls upon each of said guiding frames to operate through apertures in said apron and run upon the under side of the platen, separate springs pressing up against said frames, one spring for each frame, each spring pressing against the central portion of its frame, to divide its force between the rolls and between the ends of each roll upon said frame, said springs being in line with the studs, a rockshaft, a finger-piece having means to operate said rock-shaft,and arms extending from said rock-shaft over the ends of the rollframes to bear down each end of each frame, said arms having bearing points in line with the studs, and said guide-studs preventing the frames from skewing as the rolls drop from and rise to the platen.

6. In a typewriting machine of the class described, having a revoluble platen and a platen-frame, the combination of a paperguiding apron curving forwardly under and around the platen, a row of guiding studs directed downwardly from saidapron, a plurality of frames under said apron and having, between the rolls, apertures having sliding fit upon said guiding studs, front and rear rolls upon each of said guiding frames to operate through apertures in said apron and run upon the underside of the platen, separate springs pressing up against said frames, one spring for each frame, each spring pressing against the central portion of its frame, to divide its force between the rolls and between the ends of each roll upon said frame, said springs being in line with the studs, a rock-shaft, a finger-piece having means to operate said rock-shaft, and arms extending from said rock-shaft over the ends of the roll-frames to bear down each end of each frame, said arms having bearing points in linewith the studs, and said guide-studs pgeventing. the. frames .fnom ,skervingae he falls frbnrealgdirisegtdithe iplaten i roll frame beingiiforrhedef; sheetsmetal 1111a liaving dep nessed bearingtgatiitia endsst ceive the ends of said forwardly-extending release arms.

7 In a typewriting machine of the class described, having a revoluble platen and a platen-frame, the combination of a paperguiding apron curving forwardly under and around the platen, a row of guiding studs directed downwardly from said apron, a plurality of frames under said apron and having, between the rolls, apertures having sliding fit upon said guiding studs, front and rear rolls upon each of said guiding frames to operate through apertures in said apron and run upon the under side of the platen, separate springs pressing up againstsaid frames, one spring for each frame, each spring pressing against the central portion of its frame, to divide its force between the rolls and between the ends of each roll upon said frame, said springs being in line with 1:

each frame, said arms having bearing points said rock-shaft, and a key-lever having means to swing said arm and lock it in roll-releasing position.

8. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a platen and a platen-frame, of a plurality of sets oflower feed-rolls, each set including a rear and a front feed-roll, a onepiece frame for each set of said feed-rolls, means for urging each set of feed-rolls against said platen independently of the other sets, said means including a single compression spring on said platen-frame, centrally disposed below each of said one-piece frames to press upward against the same, and devices on said platen-frame for adjusting the tension of said compression spring.

'WILLIAM A. DOBSON. 

